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Community Profile: Indio

Indio - Mural
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USC - Lift to Rise Partnership

The Neighborhood Data for Social Change (NDSC) platform is a project of the USC Price Center for Social Innovation. Lift To Rise is partnering with The Price Center in the development of the Neighborhood Data for Social Change (NDSC) platform for the Coachella Valley. Lift to Rise is a community-based partnership in the Coachella Valley with the primary goal of advancing a future where all Coachella Valley families are healthy, stable, and thriving. NDSC will publish an ongoing series of data stories that incorporate maps, data visualizations, photos, and rich narrative to highlight trends, opportunities, and challenges facing communities in the region.

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Community profiles provide insight and information to the nine cities and unincorporated places in the Coachella Valley. The profiles provide precise, relevant data at the community level in combination with interactive maps and visualizations to help community members learn about the most important issues facing their communities and to help policy makers make informed decisions for their constituents. Community profiles are updated annually with the latest data, with new profiles released on a regular basis.

Indio is located in the Coachella Valley in Eastern Riverside County. Indio’s population grew in the late 19th century as a stop along the Southern Pacific Railroad and was the first city incorporated in the Coachella Valley in 1930. Today, Indio is home to more than 85,000 people and is the largest and fastest growing city in the Coachella Valley. Known as the City of Festivals™, it hosts the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival and Indio International Tamale Festival, bringing nearly 1.4 million people and $400 million of economic activity to the region. It has a median household income of $50,824, just under the average for other places in the Coachella Valley. 66% of Indio's residents identify as Latino, and 25% of the population are immigrants - in line with the Coachella Valley average.

Dancers from Indio's City of Festivals.
Dancers from Indio's City of Festivals.

Explore the visualizations below to learn more about demography, education, employment, housing and social connectedness in Indio and how the city compares to the state, county and other places in the Coachella Valley.

Demography

Indio has a population of 88,291 as of 2018 5-year estimates. The community stretches across 33 square miles.

The average household size in Indio is 2.78 people, higher than the average household size in the Coachella Valley (2.54). 36% of the total 37,734 households in the city are made up of non-family households (individuals living alone or with non-relatives) - 5 percentage points below the average for the Coachella Valley.

Race & Ethnicity

Indio has a large Latino population, making up 66% of the population. 14% of Latino residents live below the poverty line, meaning they have a household income that is below the federal poverty level.

Age Distribution

Indio has a median age of 44 years old, very close to the state median age (37) and the national median age (38). 32% of Indio's population is younger than 24 years old, higher than the Coachella Valley average of 28%.

Immigration

About 25% of Indio's population are immigrants, which is average for the Coachella Valley and just under the state of California. Select a community to see how the size of its immigrant population compares to Indio.

43% of Indio's immigrants are citizens, a slightly higher rate compared to the Coachella Valley as a whole.

Employment & Education

The U.S. Census Bureau does not provide industry data at the city level. The information below on jobs and industries in the city of Indio is an average of the census tracts containing the city.

Jobs & Industries

As of 2017 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the largest sectors in Indio are (1) Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting (2) Educational Services, (3) Accommodation & Food Services (4) Arts, Entertainment & Recreation, and (5) Retail Trade.

Median Household Income

The median household income in Indio is $50,824, which is near the average median household income in the Coachella Valley ($53,539). It is below average when compared to the median household income in California ($71,228) and the United States ($60,293).

Graduation Rates

79% of Indio's population has a high school degree or higher, lower than the average high school graduation rates (including equivalency) across the Coachella Valley (81%), California (83%) and the nation (88%).

16% of Indio's population has graduated with a bachelor's degree or higher. This is lower than the Coachella Valley, California, and U.S. averages.

Housing/Real Estate

Indio - Housing
A housing structure in Indio.

Housing Units

There are 37,734 housing units in Indio, making up 15% of the total housing units in the Coachella Valley.

Median Rent Price

Median gross rent in Indio is $1085, which is just below average for the Coachella Valley ($1132).

Overcrowding

6% of households in Indio have more than one person per one room of their housing unit in 2018, approaching the average overcrowding rate across other cities and places in the Coachella Valley.

Select a community to see how overcrowding rates compare to Indio.

Housing Stability

89% of households in Indio are living in the same housing unit as they were one year ago, about average for Coachella Valley (88%).

Homeownership

70% of households are homeowners, above average for the Coachella Valley, the nation, and California.

Select a community to see how homeownership rates compare to Indio.

Social Connectedness & Health

Linguistic Isolation

26% of the households in Indio are limited-English speaking households, meaning no one over the age of 14 reports speaking English "very well." This is high compared to the Coachella Valley average where 15% of households are limited-English speaking.

Uninsured Population

11% of the population in Indio does not have health insurance coverage. This is above average compared to the rate of uninsured population for California (8%) and average for the Coachella Valley (12%).

Sources Notes: All data in this community profile come from the American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2014-2018 with the exception of industry data which comes from the 2017 U.S. Census Bureau Longitudinal Household Employer Dynamics Origin-Destination Employment Statistics. Income and rent figures are shown in 2018 dollars for all years.

Photo Credits: City of Indio, Department of Economic Development

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